Natural Graphite Anode Material Crushing Equipment Selection Comparison

In-depth Analysis of Four Mainstream Equipment Types

Jaw Crusher: Reliable Choice for Primary Crushing

The jaw crusher is one of the earliest invented crushing equipment, employing a compression crushing principle. The equipment consists of a fixed jaw plate and a moving jaw plate, with the moving jaw plate making reciprocating swings, and material being repeatedly compressed between the two jaw plates until crushed. This relatively gentle crushing method gives jaw crushers an important position in the field of graphite primary crushing.

From a technical parameter perspective, modern jaw crushers can handle feed sizes up to 1200mm, with large jaw crushers reaching up to 1600mm, discharge particle size ranging from 40-300mm, typical crushing ratio of 4-8, and processing capacity from 1 ton/hour to 1600 tons/hour. For graphite with relatively low Mohs hardness, jaw crushers can easily handle materials with compressive strength up to 200 MPa.

Flake Protection Rating: ★★★☆☆ (based on theoretical analysis of compression crushing principle)

In terms of flake protection, jaw crushers perform moderately. Although compression forces do cause some damage to flakes, by reasonably adjusting the crushing ratio and discharge opening size, this damage is controllable. Its main advantages include: ability to directly accept large ore blocks without pre-crushing; low failure rate due to simple structure; ability to handle materials containing mud and water; relatively economical equipment investment. The main disadvantages are moderate output, average product particle size uniformity, and intermittent rather than continuous crushing operation.

Jaw crushers are best suited for primary coarse crushing stages, especially for small to medium-scale production lines. From a cost perspective, jaw crushers have the most economical equipment investment among the four equipment types, with moderate operating costs, making them an ideal choice for enterprises with limited budgets.

Cone Crusher: High-Efficiency Secondary Crushing Powerhouse

The cone crusher represents the high standard of modern crushing technology. It employs the lamination crushing principle, with the mantle cone making a gyratory motion inside the concave cone, and material being subjected to compression and bending forces between the two cone surfaces. The uniqueness of this crushing method lies in the fact that material particles also crush each other, forming the so-called “inter-particle crushing” effect, which not only reduces liner wear but also relatively reduces direct damage to graphite flakes.

According to the technical specifications of the Metso HP300 cone crusher, its maximum feed size is 360mm, discharge particle size range is 0-63mm (adjustable), typical crushing ratio is 6-10, and processing capacity ranges from tens of tons/hour to 1250 tons/hour depending on the model. It’s worth noting that ultra-large cone crushers like the Metso MP2500 can achieve processing capacities of 3000-4500 tons/hour. According to CITIC Heavy Industries 2024 data, large multi-cylinder hydraulic cone crushers can handle materials with compressive strength up to 600 MPa. Particularly noteworthy is that modern cone crushers are equipped with hydraulic adjustment systems, allowing adjustment of discharge opening size during operation for precise particle size control.

Flake Protection Rating: ★★★★☆ (based on theoretical analysis of lamination crushing principle)

In terms of flake protection, cone crushers perform quite well. The inter-particle forces generated by lamination crushing are much gentler than direct compression or impact. Its main advantages include: large capacity suitable for continuous operation; uniform product particle size with good shape; relatively low unit energy consumption; high degree of automation with hydraulic overload protection. However, there are also obvious disadvantages: higher equipment investment; large equipment height requiring taller plant buildings; not suitable for handling wet sticky materials; cannot directly handle large ore blocks, requiring pre-crushing.

Cone crushers are best suited for secondary medium crushing, or for primary crushing in large-scale mining operations. Although the initial investment is high, due to low energy consumption and low maintenance costs, long-term total operating cost performance is excellent, making it a highly cost-effective choice for large-scale production lines.

Impact Crusher: Not Recommended Option

The impact crusher employs a high-speed impact crushing principle, using the impact force generated by rapidly rotating blow bars to crush material. Material is thrown at high speed toward the impact plate, undergoing repeated impacts until reaching the required particle size. This crushing method performs excellently in building aggregate production because it can produce cubic-shaped products, but for natural graphite, it is a choice that requires caution.

From a technical parameter perspective, impact crushers typically have a maximum feed size of 500mm (some large equipment can reach 700mm), discharge particle size adjustable from 30-200mm, typical crushing ratio of 10-25, and processing capacity in a wide range from 50-8000 tons/hour depending on model. It is suitable for medium-hardness materials with compressive strength not exceeding 350 MPa, and graphite falls completely within this range. According to SBM Industrial Group documentation, impact crushers crush material by striking it with blow bars on a high-speed rotating rotor, then throwing the material toward the impact plate for secondary crushing.

Flake Protection Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (based on theoretical analysis of impact crushing principle)

However, this is precisely the biggest problem with using impact crushers for graphite crushing. In terms of flake protection, impact crushers perform poorly. Research shows that high-speed impact forces cause immediate material fracture, and although this crushing method doesn’t generate internal stress, for graphite with a lamellar structure, impact forces severely damage the flake structure, causing large flake graphite to break into fine particles, significantly reducing product value. Even though impact crushers have advantages such as large crushing ratio, good product particle shape, and convenient discharge particle size adjustment, the fatal flaw of damaging graphite flakes makes them unsuitable for natural graphite anode material production.

Additionally, impact crushers have fast wear of blow bars and liners, requiring frequent replacement; relatively high energy consumption; and significant noise and dust. From a cost perspective, although equipment investment is moderate, operating costs are actually high due to frequent replacement of wear parts. Therefore, we explicitly do not recommend using impact crushers for coarse crushing of natural graphite.

Roll Crusher: Best Choice for Flake Protection

Roll crushers employ a double-roll compression crushing principle, with two rollers rotating in opposite directions, and material being crushed by compression and shearing forces between the rollers. This is one of the gentlest crushing methods for lamellar materials, particularly suitable for processing brittle flaky materials.

From technical specifications, roll crushers typically have a maximum feed size not exceeding 80mm, discharge particle size adjustable from approximately 2-20mm, typical crushing ratio of about 3-6, processing capacity of 5-200 tons/hour, and roller diameter range of 400-1500mm. According to industrial application data, roll crushers can produce cubic-shaped products with elongated and flaky particle content less than 5%. These parameters indicate that roll crushers are more suitable for processing material that has already undergone primary crushing.

Flake Protection Rating: ★★★★★ (based on theoretical analysis of compression + shearing crushing principle)

In terms of flake protection, roll crushers perform best. Graphite beneficiation practice proves that using roll crushers for secondary crushing can achieve the goal of “minimum graphite particle size reduction,” maximally protecting large flake structure. A 2021 study further confirmed that using high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) can more effectively protect graphite flakes during crushing, with SEM micrographs showing that HPGR has obvious advantages in protecting graphite flakes during the crushing process.

The main advantages of roll crushers include: best flake protection with low over-crushing rate; precise control of crushing particle size; narrow product particle size distribution; ability to handle wet sticky materials; less dust generation. The disadvantages are: relatively small processing capacity; limited feed size; roller shells as wear parts wear quickly and require regular replacement based on material characteristics and output; not suitable for use as primary coarse crushing; high requirements for feed particle size uniformity.

Roll crushers are best suited as secondary fine crushing equipment, or for small-scale, high-quality production lines. From a cost perspective, equipment investment is moderate, but the maintenance cost of regular roller shell replacement needs to be included in long-term budget planning.